10.16.2009

The Seattle Housing Levy

Since, AIA Seattle is dedicated to promoting sustainability in the built environment they urge a YES vote for Proposition 1, the Seattle Housing Levy, also known as Yes for Homes.
Renewal of the Housing Levy will:

  • Provide 1,850 affordable homes serving thousands of families and individuals over the next 50 years.
  • Continue to help our most vulnerable neighbors including seniors, people with disabilities, victims of domestic violence and working families.
  • Create design and construction jobs that are sorely needed in our community.

Successful passage of the 2009 Housing Levy is especially relevant to the architectural community in the following ways:

Jobs and the Economy
An inflow of affordable housing projects can assist the architectural community through one of the toughest times in our industry and help provide jobs for the thousands both in architecture and our allied professions to help spur our economy and keep Seattle moving.

Livable Communities
Seattle architects are dedicated to promoting livable communities beyond the building envelope. Livable communities include a wide variety of housing for all income levels.

Civic Engagement
The spirit of civic education and engagement is encouraged and applauded within the architectural profession and has been formally adopted as a profession-wide policy. Support of the Seattle Housing Levy is a natural extension of the work of civically-engaged architects in increasing the quality of life in our communities.

If you would like more information about AIA Seattle’s stance on Proposition1 please visit:
www.aiaseattle.org.

10.02.2009

Seattle Firms Recognized for their Forward-thinking Approach to Urban Living

During the last weekend of September, eleven projects from Seattle architects were recognized for designs that answered the question: What is the future of urban living and where does architecture fit in?

The architecture firms were recognized during FutureShack; which was held in conjunction with residential architect magazine's Reinvention Symposium, in Seattle. The program boasted 300+ attendees and Steve Scher, of KUOW’s Weekday, as the moderator.

FutureShack is a new residential architecture program that celebrates progressive solutions for urban living across a wide range of building types, budgets, constraints, and social agendas.

Submittals were from around the region and were judged by two separate juries - one comprised of outspoken members of the public and another comprised of design professionals.

An online gallery of all 73 projects submitted by local firms can be found here: http://futureshack.aiaseattle.org/.

The juries of design professionals and non-design professionals picked the eleven winners from these 73 projects because their approach soared beyond typical residential design.

The eleven recognized firms are:

  • ruffcorn mott hinthorne stine
  • The Miller/Hull Partnership
  • GGLO
  • Prentiss Architects
  • b9 Architects
  • Workshop Architecture Design
  • Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
  • SMR Architects
  • Adams Mohler Ghillino Architects
  • Johnston Architects
  • Ross Chapin Architects